Based on Biblical Text: Philippians 3:13-14:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The truth is we are struggling daily. There exists within us an ongoing conflict between our two natures. The Apostle Paul reminds us “even though I’m Paul, the Apostle, I need to confess.” Though I love Christ, and I love God, even though I’m filled with the Holy Spirit, and love to worship the Lord, there exists within me a tug of war. I struggle between doing right and doing wrong. Realizing that we all wrestle with the same problem, Paul, inspired by God, tells us how to deal with this conflict.

We must come to the realization that the war we are waging is real! Paul points out that we do things that we are actually against and we don’t do the things that we know we are supposed to do. Like Paul we find that we too are confronted with this conflict between good and evil. Paul says, “When I would do good, evil is present.” Clearly Paul is referring to his sin nature producing evil that he didn’t even know he could produce. There is a constant fight waging internally between the old man and the new man. The old man is intent on holding on to sin, while the new man struggles to let sin go.

We are sometimes under the false impression that just because we come to Christ, the old habits and ways of our past somehow disappear. The truth of the matter is that when we come to Christ, we are saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit. But we are still operating in the flesh. That means we still know how to do the worldly things we found ourselves doing before.

Our brain will still produce evil thoughts in us because our new man is still wrapped in old flesh much like new wine in old wineskin. When we were saved, the old man did not move out; he just moved over and he is not going to give up his territory without a fight. We will be tested and tried. The truth is there may be times when our thoughts, words, and actions disappoint even ourselves. We must remain prayerful, and we must keep pressing.

We will find out the hard way that the war we are fighting is revealing. We will discover some things about ourselves. Like the Apostle Paul we will discover our lives are not lived on the Sunday stage all week long. Unfortunately, we will find out just like Paul that we are carnal. That means that we practice some things that we should avoid. We are not as in control as we would like to be. We have a difficult time seeing the sin in ourselves, and an even more difficult time passing judgment on ourselves. We do a horrible job of controlling ourselves.

Paul reminds us that “when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” In other words, the blood of Jesus Christ covers our sin and opens the door to forgiveness for every repentant heart.

The struggle between good and evil reveals the truth about us. We may not see it ourselves, folk around us may not see it but rest assured God sees it. That very fact should be enough to make every one of us thankful for salvation. Satan would love to get us back to our old self, rendering us an ineffective witness for Christ. But we cannot allow Satan to have the victory! We ought to be very thankful for the Lord leading us, protecting us, and guiding us away from sin.

Thanks be to God the war between good and evil can be rewarding. It might sound a bit strange, however Paul encourages us with the news that there is actually a benefit to the struggle. The benefit is clearly that in the struggle we will find that “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world!” Thank God, we will find we are not struggling by ourselves. We will come to find out that we have the help we need in our weakness; for when we are weak, then (through the Holy Spirit) we are strong. When we are on the battlefield, we are not alone, God is on our side. “If God be for us…” The more we struggle the stronger we become.

Wrestling with this old flesh of ours, helps us to discover that the Holy Spirit is our sword. Thankfully even while Satan is working to pull us apart, Christ is already putting us back together. There is in fact a war going on inside, but the victory is ours. We are being pulled from side to side, but we find ourselves getting stronger with the Lord’s help. Eventually we will find ourselves at the point where we are praying, “Lord, save me now!” Why, because the new man in us desires to draw closer to God. The sins that we used to enjoy will become thorns in our flesh, and we will eventually notice them fleeing far from us. The day will come when we will be able to say, like Paul, “I’m forgetting what’s behind me, and I’m reaching for what is before me; I’m pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.”

Based on Biblical Text: Acts 10:43 KJV

To him [Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

It is difficult sometimes to resist the commercial frenzy associated with the Easter celebration. You see, Easter offers us a gift. Christmas, the holiday most associated with gift-giving, is really about the Promise of a gift. The truth of the matter is, Easter is about the delivery of the gift!

Our text summarizes the gift of Easter, in my humble opinion, better than some others. The sermon, Peter’s first as the bishop of the New Testament church movement, is quite impressive, as it focuses on the meaning of Easter. Peter reminds us that Easter is about the gift of forgiveness of sins.

We are in need of forgiveness because sin separates us from God. We cannot pray, meditate, or even worship the Lord as a sinner. Sin cannot stand in the presence of God. The Ten Commandments were the governing law in God’s covenant relationship with mankind. They were designed to be the foundation of our duty to God and our duty to each other. However, we disobeyed the Law. The truth is we could not fulfill the laws of the covenant because of disobedience.

We need forgiveness because we have no power of our own to overcome sin. It seems, for the most part, we are comfortable in our sin. That is, arguably why there is so much of it. Sin presented a dilemma for us. It separated us from God, who is holy and perfect. We who represent God’s precious creation, born into this world to worship Him, could not worship Him because we were overpowered by our sin. We could never fix our broken relationship with God on our own. We needed holy help! We were in desperate need of the help of a Savior.

We are in need of forgiveness because we are doomed for eternal death without it. We cannot save ourselves! The power of sin is too great an enemy for us to fight alone. Without forgiveness, we are doomed. Sooner or later, every one of us must face the fact that our soul will spend eternity somewhere. We can spend it in the presence of God or we can spend it forever separated from God. The apostle Paul understood the great dilemma we faced and cried, “O wretched man that I am; who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). The answer reverberating from Heaven was clearly Jesus! The choice is ours.

Jesus came to rescue us from the source, the scope, the strategy, the sorrows, the signs and more importantly the sentence due to our sin! He came to reconcile us to God in the only way we could be reconciled. He took all the torture, all of the pain, all of the suffering and all the grief. He took our punishment upon Himself. He shouldered it all so that we could stand in the presence of God and worship Him! Our omniscience God realized, even at Creation that an alternative covenant would be necessary to save us. Easter is the fulfillment of that alternative method! We are forgiven and we are saved from the hell of punishment without pity, misery without mercy, and despair without end. That is the gift of Easter!

Based on Biblical Text: Psalm 118:26a KJV

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord

Palm Sunday just may be the most ignored among the main events in Jesus’ life. However, if Palm Sunday has something to say about the history of our faith, and has anything to do with the greatest act of obedience and worship in the life of our faith then it deserves our attention. If Palm Sunday has something to do with the great revival that we are praying to be a part of, has something to do with Jesus’ greater glory and is about the praise and prayer that eventually served to transform entire cities then it certainly deserves our attention.

Palm Sunday is about Jesus! It represents the beginning of a long week of changing emotions. Palm Sunday is about the most incredible highs and the most devastating lows. Because of Jesus our hope has an anchor, is grounded in truth and is rooted in righteousness. What happened on Palm Sunday was arguably the most public hour of Jesus’ life.

Palm Sunday is important as the events are recorded in all four gospels. The Christmas story is found in only two of the gospels. The donkey ride by itself is enough to show us that it was intended for, and even planned by Jesus Himself. Jesus sent two of His disciples into the village and instructed them to find the donkey and the colt, turn them loose and “bring them to me.” Jesus said if anybody asks you anything tell them the Lord needs them.

Palm Sunday was a day of great joy, and yet we find Jesus openly weeping. It was a time of great reception, of great favor, and yet Jesus ends the day with an angry outburst clearing out the Temple. “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” This recorded act of violence moved Jesus’ enemies to form an alliance against him.

Jesus knew very well that the praise was directed toward him and that the people recognized him as God’s chosen Messiah. However, the Palm Sunday celebration clearly indicated that Jesus’ followers really didn’t understand the enormous significance of the event. The Bible says “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him” (John 12:16). This verse reminds us that Palm Sunday was a time when things had been done to Jesus.

We think we know Jesus when we can explain what He came to do for us. However, Palm Sunday sometimes gets lost because a closer look reminds us that it is not about us, it is about Jesus. On Palm Sunday something wonderful took place for Jesus.

Jesus was fulfilling prophecy. The Bible talks about the Coming King. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” As Jesus enters Jerusalem the crowd shouted and sang from Psalm 118 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

The truth of the matter is Jesus was doing more than fulfilling prophecy. On Palm Sunday Jesus was prophesying. He combined the truths and imagery of the prophecy in Zechariah 9, other scriptures and what had been written hundreds of years before Palm Sunday to let folk know He was this majestic king that the leaders talked about. He wanted the people to know that He was the king that the leaders would turn on and convince them to have killed.

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” The crowd shouted their recognition that God had given them a messiah. This crowd was not trying to force him to be king, or elect him as king by a voice vote. Jesus had seen that kind of mob before (John 6:15) and had disappeared almost instantly. This was not a king-making crowd. This crowd recognized that Jesus came to them “in the name of the Lord.”

Palm Sunday is a day for Jesus. Jesus is looking toward the day when God would redeem us from evil. Jesus is looking forward to the day that churches, families, and entire cities would be transformed so that the promised kingdom of God on earth would be a reality.

God transforms us through a leader. Jesus is that leader. Jesus took the abuse and endured the cruelty that we might be transformed. Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Jesus’ work beginning on Palm Sunday transforms us. On that Palm Sunday when Jesus triumphantly rode into Jerusalem there was no longer any doubt as to who the leader would be. The questions that day and the questions today are, will God’s people know Him and will they recognized Him? Will God’s people welcome their Messiah?

On this Palm Sunday will our hearts be open to welcome the king of glory, “That the King of glory may come in!” “Who is this King of glory?”, “The Lord strong and mighty.” “Who is this King of glory?,” The Lord mighty in battle. The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.”

Based on Biblical Text: Matthew 28:6a KJV

Easter Sunday is not far away. We will celebrate the empty tomb signifying that Christ got up just like He said He would.

A question for us is: Do you believe in the Resurrection? Somebody may be thinking that is a silly question for a pastor to ask his congregation. Indulge me for just a few moments?

Truthfully, when you leave this earthly house of your tabernacle, when it is dissolved into ashes and dust, do you really believe that your soul will take up residence in the presence of God?

I contend that concept represents one of the foundational truths of our faith! Does it not? What purpose would there be to live a penitent life, serving a God we have not seen, if in the end we go nowhere? Our saintly journey here on earth is predicated on the belief that our Salvation, as witnessed by our obedience, will one day reunite us with God our Father. It is the reason we celebrate Jesus. We understand, by faith, without Jesus’ payment for our sins, we could never be enjoined to God.

The truth is the religious rulers in biblical times, secretly denied the resurrection altogether. They believed that the body and the soul perished at the same time. That is why they were only concerned, and seemingly obsessed, with the Mosaic Law. And they kept their disbelief in the resurrection to themselves. Only the highest-ranking religionists of that day shared this belief or should we say, lack of belief.

To be fair to the religious leaders then, and the scientists and philosophers of this present age for that matter we must admit that the concept of the resurrection is hard to comprehend. It is indeed a theological supposition that even the most noted scholars have debated throughout the ages. Ancient skeptics are no different from many modern-day skeptics. Their view of the resurrection life, which they rejected, was that it would be much like this present life. But Jesus says, the present age is very different from the Age to come.

Jesus goes on to say, “Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”

The religious rulers in biblical times claimed that the teachings of Moses did not support the concept of a resurrection. But Jesus appeals directly to Moses. If the Lord is indeed the God of the patriarchs, the religious leaders should have known that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were still alive even though those words were spoken several hundred years after Jacob had died. So, Jesus says, “He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to Him all are alive.”

I have a feeling that heaven is going to be so much more exciting than anything we experience here. Here and now, our lives are in continuity with all those who have passed on before. I am talking about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Peter, James, John, Mary, Martha, Paul. God is the God of the living. To him all these are alive.

Please notice that Jesus speaks about “the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come” The Thessalonian Christians were concerned because believers had died and Jesus had not yet returned. So Paul wrote to them, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonian 4.16-17). Again we are reminded, “those who died believing in Christ.”

Paul is emphasizing that we who now believe in Christ are linked to believers who have died. We are alive, but, beyond the grave, they are alive too. They are, in fact, in the presence of God. He is the God of the living as well as the God of those who are alive in Christ!

We are challenged to hear the words of the patriarchs of the bible as they spring from the Holy Writ in confirmation to the instruction given by the Lord to the religious leaders.

For example, we find Job confessing his belief in the resurrection when he said, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold” (Job 19:26-27). David said, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me” (Psalm 49:15). Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones in the desert (Ezekiel 37:7). The prophet Isaiah said, “[God] will swallow up death in victory” (Isaiah 25:8) Daniel said, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). Each of these men of God confessed their belief in the resurrection.

John said in his revelation concerning the resurrection, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

We are not worthy to rise from death and live in the ages to come with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But thanks be to God, it was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that proved the validity and infallibility of God’s holy promises confirming that through Christ, we shall inherit eternal life.

It was Jesus’ resurrection that substantiated the fulfillment and the completion of God’s plan of salvation. It revealed the efficiency and the sufficiency of His blood to atone for sin. Jesus’ resurrection provided and implanted hope within our hearts in regards to death and the future. His resurrection was and is important simply because our resurrection is important! It is the hope of all the saints of God!

Based on Biblical Text: 2 Corinthians 8:9 KJV

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Paul reminds us that we do well in so many things. We trust God, we are articulate, insightful, and passionate. He admonishes us to do our best in giving too. He says, I’m not trying to order you around against your will. However, using the example of the Macedonians’ enthusiasm as a stimulus to our love, he is hoping to bring the best out of us. We are reminded of the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. As rich as He was, He gave it all away for us in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.

We have made many promises as it relates to our giving and our commitment to support the mission and ministries of our church. Our vow begins as we are read into full membership. Question 4: Do you believe in the Doctrine of Holy Scriptures as set forth in the articles of religion of the African Methodist Episcopal Church? Question 5: Will you be governed by the Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, hold sacred the ordinances of God and try as much as possible to promote the welfare of fellow members and the advancement of the Kingdom of God? Question 6: Will you give of your time, talents, and money for the support of the Gospel, Church, poor, and various ministries of the Church? The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church that we vow to be governed by reminds us that tithing shall be the official doctrinal stewardship position of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and every church shall work toward a full tithing commitment. Finally, …the minister shall give the name(s) of the candidate(s), and say: We cordially welcome you into the fellowship of the Church of God, and in light of our Christian love, I extend to you the right hand of fellowship, and may God grant that you may be a faithful and useful member of the Church militant till you are called to the fellowship of the Church triumphant, which is faultless before the presence of God.

Paul admonishes us that the best thing we can do right now is to finish what we started and not let those good intentions grow stale. Our heart has been in the right place all along. We have what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, we do what we can, not what we can’t. The heart regulates the hands. This is not so others can take it easy while we sweat it out. We are challenged to work shoulder to shoulder with each other all the way. In that way, our surplus will match our fellow member’s deficit, their surplus will match our deficit. In the end, we come out even. As it is written, “Nothing left over to the one with the most, Nothing lacking to the one with the least.”

Beloved, we have not always followed through with what we promised. We have been excited at the beginning of our journey; however, we lose our zest for mission and ministry somewhere along the way. Paul makes it clear that God’s Word is plain and to the point. The cure for what ails us can be found in a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.

I think the translation from The Living Bible is a help at this juncture as it reads, You people there are leaders in so many ways. You have so much faith, so many good preachers, so much learning, so much enthusiasm, so much love for us. Now I want you to be leaders also in the spirit of cheerful giving. I am not giving you an order; I am not saying you must do it, but others are eager for it. This is one way to prove that your love is real, that it goes beyond mere words. You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus was: though he was so very rich, yet to help you he became so very poor, so that by being poor he could make you rich. I want to suggest that you finish what you started to do a year ago, for you were not only the first to propose this idea, but the first to begin doing something about it. Having started the ball rolling so enthusiastically, you should carry this project through to completion just as gladly, giving whatever you can out of whatever you have. Let your enthusiastic idea at the start be equaled by your realistic action now. If you are really eager to give, then it isn’t important how much you have to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you haven’t. Of course, I don’t mean that those who receive your gifts should have an easy time of it at your expense, but you should divide with them. Right now you have plenty and can help them; then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way, each will have as much as he needs. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? “He that gathered much had nothing left over, and he that gathered little had enough.” So you also should share with those in need.

I realize that it is extremely difficult to convince a selfish people that there are actually great benefits to sharing. However, we at the top must be convinced that we have a responsibility to set the example for those folk at the bottom of the chain who are struggling to understand what their responsibility to mission and ministry is.

We at the top must first come to understand that God’s plan for sharing is really quite simple. There should be, among us who have been appointed or elected to provide leadership for the flock, a general understanding that God wants 10% for the work of kingdom building, and then an offering according to our ability. In other words, after allowing God to claim His ten percent, give whatever else we can spare. Warning, God’s Word also says to us if we give little because our analysis of our expendable income is unrighteous we need to be careful! It is a fact that God is watching us. God knows what our needs are. God knows what excess we have.

When Paul says, “Give from what you have” he’s not talking about the tithe. The tithe belongs to God. When Paul is saying give from what you have he is talking about an offering. Many times, maybe even most times, the offering comes as a sacrifice. We are challenged to give according to our ability, recognizing, of course, that God loves a cheerful giver.

The truth of the matter is, God’s plan for sharing is sure to meet every need and solve every problem, if we trust Him. God’s plan for sharing is a cure for the financial woes of the church, but it requires sacrifice and obedience. We who are Christian are challenged to be obedient to the cause of Christianity. When we sacrifice giving from what we have, we help meet the physical needs of the church and enable the church to spread the gospel, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, and to help the helpless.

Based on Biblical Text: Acts 10:44 KJV

While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

Lamentably, pride is one of the church’s biggest enemies. The truth of the matter is we get puffed up about just about anything. We swell up over how much money we raised and how much our ministry has grown. We boast about how many people showed up to our meeting, how many kids come to our Sunday School class, and how many people sign up to serve on our committee. Pride is the greatest pitfall in the pursuit of excellence in ministry. Why? Because the flesh desires to take all the credit for what the Spirit has accomplished!

When the flesh rears its ugly head around the church, we very easily become territorial about our piece of the kingdom. In an instant, it is all about my. It is my board, my choir, and my Bible Study class. Suddenly, it is my pew! In fact, we act as if we own the very building.

We need to understand there is nothing wrong with church pride to a degree. I contend that there isn’t a pastor serving who would be satisfied with a congregation of members who don’t speak highly of their church and its ministry accomplishments. As a matter of fact, the community ought to hear good things about the work we are doing. However, what they ought not to hear is a bunch of church members taking all the credit for the accomplishments and not appropriately giving credit to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Pride can be very dangerous when it gives rise to false ownership as false ownership leads to the exclusion of others. Think about it — if it is my pew, you can’t sit there unless I say so. If it is my ministry, you can’t be a part of it unless I say so. How ridiculous!

Unwarranted pride is not a new phenomenon of the human spirit. The fact is, the carnal flesh has been trying to sabotage the spread of the gospel since the first churches were formed following the Resurrection. Historically, the Jews were sure they had a special hold on the new Gospel because their forefathers were God’s chosen people. After all, hadn’t God chosen them to carry the monotheistic message of one God throughout the centuries? Then they must be the ones God would use to spread this new gospel through the nations! Like church leadership today, the Jews thought they had a lock on who was authorized to do what.

But a strange thing happened. The Holy Spirit descended upon some new converts whom the Jews considered outcasts. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought about a change as we were now charged to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” We are challenged to temper our pride.

How many times has pride prevented us from doing the real work in the church of Jesus Christ? Think about it. If we were summoned by a Muslim to come and explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ, would we go? What if a homeless person asked us to sit a while and talk about Jesus, would we? How would we respond to the prostitute who strikes up a conversation with us about faith? The truth is, many times we shy away from great opportunities to share the gospel story because we let pride get in the way. It is pride that convinces us, “We are better than they are!”

Pride is like a weed in the soul with deep roots. The seeds of pride find lodging in the tiniest of cracks and sprout over and over again. Like a weed, pride can take root and flourish in good or bad soil.

I suspect that word must have been spread that Peter was coming to a gentile’s house because by the time he arrived he found a huge crowd. There were Gentiles and Jews there all waiting to see what would happen. Peter preached Christ that day to all who were gathered there, and a strange phenomenon occurred. The text says that Jew and Gentile alike all began to show evidence of the Holy Spirit. It seems that pride took a back seat that day. As Peter began to talk about Jesus, His command to repent, and His offer of salvation, the Word fell on the crowd.

Everywhere Jesus’ name has not been proclaimed, there are hearts groping for the light and seeking to obey the commands of their souls. Without a “Peter,” telling the masses that Jesus is Lord of all, how shall they hear? The text says, “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”

Is there anyone on the face of this earth that does not deserve to hear the gospel message and receive salvation? Jesus is Lord of all! Jesus is a remedy for the ruined and hope for the hopeless. Jesus is help for the helpless, justification for the judged, redemption for the rebellious, and a blessing for the burdened. We cannot allow pride to snuff out our witness!